Who Invented the Mirror?

The mirror is one of those inventions that have become so ingrained in our society, we scarcely stop to wonder about its origins. But if you've ever taken the time to stop looking in the mirror and actually stood back and looked at the mirror, you might have asked yourself where it came from. How was it made? Who invented this invaluable object?

History

It's difficult to nail down the invention of the mirror to any one man, or even a single culture. You have to start with your definition of a mirror, given that any naturally reflective surface may be able to serve as one in many contexts. To look at a mirror as a manufactured item, however, you would be drawn to early mirrored obsidian stones. Archaeologists have discovered polished stones such as these in Turkey, dating to 6000 BC. There have been similar findings in South America and China.

Time Frame

If you're looking for a more precise answer to the question of who invented the mirror--and your definition is that of the mirrors we have commonly hanging in our houses today--you need look no further than a German chemist named Justus von Liebig. In 1835, he created the first modern mirror by applying a layer of metallic silver to the back of a pane of glass. This created what was a template for the first mass production of the modern mirror.

Types

Mirrors come in all shapes and sizes; they're used for a variety of reasons. The most common use for a mirror is for vanity. This is why we have mirrors hanging all over our houses, and especially in the bathroom where we prepare ourselves for the day. But there are many types of mirrors in use, and many of them function in ways that might not be apparently obvious.

Car mirrors make use of reflective surfaces to allow our eyes a greater range of vision than would otherwise be possible. Have you ever tried driving a car with broken rearview mirrors? It's harder than you would think.

Convex mirrors are curved, so as to give the onlooker a wider view than he would have with a standard, flat mirror. These are the types of mirrors you see in shopping malls and parking lots in order to give drivers, shoppers and security officers the best possible view of the land.

Two-way mirrors are coated with a specially fine layer of metallic reflection so that a limited amount of light is reflected back at the viewer. Note that this is true for both sides of the mirror. This is a big misconception when it comes to two-way mirrors. The side of the mirror that is reflective is dependent only on which side is in the brighter of two rooms. The darker room will always have the advantage of being able to see through the mirror.

Funhouse mirrors distort our images to make us appear tall, fat or even otherworldly. They're marked by hollows, curves and bumps. Each section of the mirror is slightly bowed out or rolled in. A mirror reflects light back to our eyes, and if the mirror is flat, the reflection is an even one. But when the mirror is distorted, the light reflects back at strange angles.

Benefits

Besides showing us a reflection, mirrors give us a myriad of benefits that can be seen throughout the world. One of the most interesting benefits of a mirror comes in the form of artificial lighting. Using mirrors, entire communities have been able to bathe certain portions of their towns with sunlight when they would otherwise have little or none. Nowhere is this effect seen better than in the small town of Viganella, Italy. Mirrors are also used quite frequently in the decoration of a room or business to give the illusion of greater size and depth. A well-mirrored room can easily look twice as large as a room with none. Mirrors are also used in technology, such as DLP televisions, to create a large, high-definition picture without taking up a great deal of space for projection.

Theories/Speculation

Though they have many practical uses and benefits, mirrors are also an important part of our culture from a superstitious and fictitious point of view. There are cultures even today where a mirror is considered to be taboo, being as it shines a reflection of the soul back at the viewer. It is also a common superstition to believe that the breaking of a mirror can lead to 7 years of bad luck. Going back the the mirror being a reflection of the soul, this is why stories of vampires often involve their inability to see themselves in the reflection. Their soul has already passed on.